Supporting Those Who Support Our Elders: Understanding and Assisting the Direct Care Workforce in the Richmond Region
Older adults in Virginia and across the nation are facing a crisis of care. The elder population – those aged 65 and older – is growing rapidly, but the number of caregivers those elders need is not keeping pace. Direct care workers -- particularly home and personal care aides -- are essential in caring for older adults, but their status and value remain low, frustrating efforts to recruit and retain new workers. Today, the direct care workforce is composed primarily of low-paid women of color, many of them immigrants, with low levels of education.

Across the country, organizations, institutions and communities are seeking to address this challenge through programs, regulations and public policy. We commissioned the following report to look at the specifics of the direct care workforce challenge in Virginia and the current thinking around effective interventions. 
RMHF and Schaberg Foundation Join Forces to Support Older Adults
Early in the pandemic, we recognized the disproportionate impact COVID-19 would have on older adults. Our senior fellow, Fred Karnas, began working with the Bob and Anna Lou Schaberg Foundation and other senior-serving entities to understand the needs and challenges of older adults and those organizations supporting them. RMHF Trustees also approved $90,000 in grants to organizations supporting older adults as part of our COVID-19 response grants. 

As an outgrowth of what we learned from that process, we commissioned the Elders Report to evaluate and document unmet needs related to caring for older adults in our community. 
 
Now, RMHF and Schaberg Foundation are supporting a three year initiative to advance the home care workforce through compensation, training and accessibility.

To date, RMHF has committed more than $700,000 in funding over three years to support the initiative. In this pilot program, “Living Well: Valuing Care Providers and Their Work,” Jewish Family Services and Family Lifeline will work together to build equity, capacity and community.

It is our combined hope that addressing the issue of wages head on will start to create systemic change for traditionally undervalued Care Providers, while greater access to transportation and technology outlines a more formal structure for elder care supports.

LeadingAge, a community of nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-driven organizations serving older adults, will conduct a three year evaluation to measure and offer insights on the pilot program’s effectiveness.

In addition to financial support, RMHF and Schaberg Foundation recently convened 25 public leaders, grantee partners, NGOs and CDFIs in the Richmond region for a discussion session “The Future of Older Adults,” facilitated by The Spark Mill. As a group, we discussed workforce, housing, policy and coordination and alignment of services. We hope to release a report in the next few months that provides insights and recommendations from our collective conversations and work.

Senior Connection and Leading Age Virginia Celebrate 50 Years!
Two of our partner organizations, Senior Connections and LeadingAge, are celebrating a huge milestone - 50 years since they were founded. We asked their leaders, Amy Strite and Melissa Andrews, to share their responses to the following question:  

As our community looks to the next 50 years, what are the greatest opportunities and challenges facing older adults and the people who care for them?

Here are excerpts from their responses:
“As a society we need to work hard to eliminate ageism and embrace aging as a natural part of life. Dismantling ageism will help us to face the most challenging and the most liberating aspects of aging fully and equally.” 

“We must address social isolation. We are, at every age, inherently social and relational creatures. We need to see one another, talk with each other, hold hands, and laugh together. It is necessary for good health and a good life, whether we are six-months-old or 96 years old…”

-- Amy Strite, Executive Director, Senior Connections
“Government subsidized programs help provide alternatives for low-income families (we need more of these options as well), and there are Life Plan Communities for upper-income elders. But, the 56% of older Americans that are in the middle market may fall between the cracks. A high percentage of them will also have future care and mobility needs but will desire to age in place where they can remain connected to the greater community.”

“The middle market deserves options as they age. Together, we can meet this challenge head on.”

-- Melissa Andrews, President & CEO, LeadingAge Virginia
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